How do i file a complaint

[bemp1987]

I need either the email or phone number to the corporate office to file a complaint. I am in dispute with a freelancer that was hired to complete work that was agreed and signed by the freelancer prior to the start of the project. The freelancer has been paid and is now refusing to complete the work that was agreed to. I have spent approximately $10,000 or more with this agency as all part of this project only to find that the agency owner has backpeddled on many promises, late on all deliverables, not lived up to managing the project, and is now refusing to complete the development that was signed and agreed to. As a customer since this platform was o-desk, and having spent tens of thousands of dollars through this platform i will NOT accept anything short of total satisfaction including and up-to a refund from the freelancer along with the suspension of the freelancer. I have a legal team engaged should your company not be willing to participate in resolution. Please provide how i can formally escalate this issue. 

[prestonhunter]

Sujata:
Based on your description of events, you were never hired with an Upwork contract.

Never work without a contract.

Also: You communicated with the "client" OFF PLATFORM before being officially hired.

That is a violation of Upwork ToS.

I am very sorry that you had a disappointing experience.

This would not have happened if you had followed the rules.

[6e2fe744]

I need to file a complaint for a job. Upwork made it impossible for me to find out where to do it! The job is fixed rate and closed. Work is improper. Get back to me asap! 

[yofazza]

By posting here you should get a moderator create a support ticket soon. But to have a good solution is another matter.

How can the job be closed btw? Did you spent more than 2 weeks not looking at the job? Freelancer can submit their work and the system will consider it approved if you ignore it for 2 weeks.

[JoanneP]

Hi Johannes,

I'm sorry to hear about your recent project. I have requested the assistance of our team. One of our agents will contact you via a support ticket to assist you further. 

[7feed026]

I filed multiple disputes on my freelancer's work quality. the quality of my freelancer's work is literally fraud. and yet Upwork only claims they are the platform for connecting people. they are not responsible for any fraud freelancer who potentially undergoes fraudulent work to the Client. What a joke This platform is !!!

[prestonhunter]

re: "I need either the email or phone number to the corporate office to file a complaint. I am in dispute with a freelancer that was hired to complete work that was agreed and signed by the freelancer prior to the start of the project. The freelancer has been paid and is now refusing to complete the work that was agreed to. I have spent approximately $10,000 or more with this agency as all part of this project only to find that the agency owner has backpeddled on many promises, late on all deliverables, not lived up to managing the project, and is now refusing to complete the development that was signed and agreed to... i will NOT accept anything short of total satisfaction including and up-to a refund from the freelancer along with the suspension of the freelancer. I have a legal team engaged should your company not be willing to participate in resolution. Please provide how i can formally escalate this issue."

I am very sorry that you have had a disappointing experience while using Upwork.

You paid over $10,000 to an agency. And now you want that money back. And you want the freelancer to be suspended.

Okay... what if Upwork DOES exactly that: What if Upwork does indeed suspend the freelancer (agency) permanently?

Okay...

That doesn't mean your project is done. And that doesn't result in you getting any money back.

You have apparently lost $10,000 and don't have a finished project.

Upwork no longer has your money. And the freelancer hasn't refunded the money, and has no incentive to do so.

So your strategy is not one that I can recommend to other clients.

Instead, I recommend clients do this:

Proactively plan to never ask for a refund, and never dispute, no matter what. That way you will save money. Instead of paying money to a freelancer and asking for that money back, which is a huge gamble that is unlikely to actually result in getting money, do this: Stop paying money to an underperforming freelance. If a freelancer isn't providing you with work that you love and that you have checked and tested and know you can use, then fire the freelancer. Assign the remaining work to the other freelancers on your team who are delivering the greatest value.

[7feed026]

From my personal experience, I found most SEO freelancers on Upwork just saying Voodoo and promising the sky at the beginning. When it comes to results, they are all replaced with excuses.  When I started hiring local SEO companies, they explained that those so-called SEO freelancers only build junk backlinks and Spammy links and sometimes some paid classified links that only last 1 or 2 weeks but will boost your website visibility for only a short period like one week and then just boom disappears, in return, they ask you to pay to tell you their work worked, but what you don't know is the result they called only last 1 week then drop back to 0 visibility, in which they can keep asking you the money and tell you in a vicious cycle. 

I hired both budget and expensive freelancers, so-called top rated freelancers, they all do the same thing, none of them are really working for some quality backlinks to get your website ranking organically in long run. I would say SEO area on Upwork is dark area you should really be careful with !

For anyone interested in checking so called top rated freelancers  work, please see the evidence below and see by yourself how horrible his work is !! 

1) Links on sites of domain zones that are not suitable for my website content at all. (There were tons more in his report, which gives 0 value to my website, therefore, it cannot be counted as work, because it is irrelevant to what I want to achieve in my contract) Here, for example, is a link to the Italian site: **Edited for Community Guidelines**

2) Non-working pages with a 404 code. There were 1000 more in his report

(This means I am paying money for building nothing all backlinks do not exist anymore, which shows why my website search bumped in such a short period and then went back to 0 again.) A few examples are below

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Office cleaning service Sydney

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

4) There is an image or video, but there is no link to our site (that is, it does not make any sense and does not help our site in any way): (Basically, no backlinks here are created linking back to my website.)

Cleaning service by UrCleaner.png

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Cleaning is Easy with UrCleaner

We are aware that keeping things clean requires great consideration. Because all of our cleaning services are competitively priced, we can assure you that you will receive a fantastic deal. Visit at

UrCleaner's Office Cleaning Service Are Top Notch Office Cleaners

Even while many organisations encourage employees to work remotely, some employees still need to be in the office, especially those who use specialised systems and equipment. You can keep your workplace safe for your employees with the aid of UrCleaner's office cleaning service in Sydney. **Edited for Community Guidelines**

5) All links are made only to the main page, although it would be better to make links to several pages of the site and especially to our landing pages like**Edited for Community Guidelines**with appropriate anchors

6) Links are all on the same site, which is not ideal at all.

Stay Clean To Feel Clean with UrCleaner

The top service providing in commercial cleaning in Sydney is UrCleaner, which offers all the essentials needed for basic cleaning and proper sanitization, keeping your house and office germ-free

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Utilize UrCleaner To Stay Clean And Feel Clean

UrCleaner is the best commercial cleaning service in Sydney, offering all the necessities for fundamental cleaning and effective sanitization, keeping your home and business germ-free.

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

Have You Looking For Attention To The Office Cleaning Service Sydney?

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

etc

7) Uploading pdf files to sites without a link to our site does not make any sense, because we do not receive a link from the site: (Basically, no backlinks here are created linking back to my website.)

Are you looking for a high-quality cleaning service?

We've come to clean your home. We value your time and may send a skilled cleaner to your location within a day of receiving your phone call. We offer more than just look at the provided PDF to meet your needs. To know more:**Edited for Community Guidelines**

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

commercial cleaning services.pdf

Shared with**Edited for Community Guidelines**

All links from his "Classified Submission" category do not open: (Basically, no backlinks here are created linking back to my website.)

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[d463a5e9]

Those are scanners using upwork to scam others

[jeremiah-brown]

Upwork either hid or redirected all of the phone numbers that worked.  It used to be a simple google search would get you the phone number but they've changed the answering system so that it results in a loop, with all options EXCEPT enterprise routing users right back here to the website/ticket system.

[daec8a31]

Good luck, I'd be interested to know the outcome. I also have paid $4k into a project that was not delivered 6 months past the agreed on time. When I sought help from Upwork for option, I was automatically set up with mediation that I never sought. The mediator took it upon herself to reach out to the other party and informed them I had requested to open a dispute. All work stopped and the freelancer was non-compliant.  After a couple of weeks, I notified the mediator who had persisted with "meditation" (which gets you nothing but continued delay in proceedings btw). During the "mediation process," she continuously showed my hand to the other party when I was allowing him the time he requested (although they were delay tactics). 

I would be interested to hear more on any actions against Upwork. 

The mediator gave a conclusion date for mediation to which the freelancer reported he'd give action the day after. Nothing was enforced. The day the freelancer reports he would refund at least 1k, I messaged and he said he didn't feel up to it yet because it was too early in the morning. The day passed and still nothing. I got a notice from the mediator (and Upwork) that the contract was now closed and we have only 14 days to leave feedback!

Had the mediator not stuck her nose in, the contract would still be open for possible whatever. 

This 

[prestonhunter]

re: "I also have paid $4k into a project that was not delivered 6 months past the agreed on time."

I am very sorry that you had a disappointing experience.

For future reference, and for all other clients reading this thread, what happened to you was not an Upwork issue.

Upwork did nothing wrong here.

And it was not a freelancer issue.

It was a project manager issue.

The PM is the one who is responsible for ensuring that a project is completed on time and on budget.

Individual freelancers are not responsible for a development project being completed.

Blaming a freelancer for that is like blaming an actor if a film isn't completed.
Are actors important? Yes. But if an actor is terrble, the film still gets made. The director and producer replace the actor.

If an actor dies, the film can still get made. The actor can be replaced or recast or fill-in work can be done digitally.

Upwork itself helps you find, hire and pay freelancers. It has nothing to do with project management. That is your PM's job.

[prestonhunter]

Note that even if someone completely disagrees with me about who is responsible, it doesn't matter.

If a client sincerely believes that Upwork is responsible for a development project being completed... It doesn't matter. Upwork still isn't going to take on that role.

And even if a client sincerely, truly believes that it is the lead developer's responsibility... It doesn't matter. Only 25% of lead developers can fulfill the role of project manager. So if you are fortunate enough to have hired somebody in that 25%, that's great! Your project will probably succeed.

But what if your lead developer is in the 75%?

Then your project is going to fail unless you:

a) hire a competent independent project manager

[or]

b) fulfull the role of project manager yourself